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5 Indoor Uses for Your Portland Fence Materials

Portlanders love to reuse, repurpose and recycle. There’s a vibrant community of crafting enthusiasts in Puddletown who love to help save the planet by reusing what might otherwise end up in a landfill. Old cedar fence materials may strike some as little more than a pile of trash, but the same jumble of fence materials would probably inspire a Portland crafter. Portland residents can reuse old fence posts, boards and other parts by creating one of the interior design projects listed below.

1. Gate or Fence Headboard

Gates are naturally charming fence materials. Portland DIY types can transform gates or sections of a fence into headboards. Picket fences are popular for little girl’s headboards, whereas a headboard created from an ornate wrought iron gate would add a more formal atmosphere to your bedroom. You can even create a beautiful headboard out of chain link fence materials.

Portland has plenty of unique resources for finding the right headboard, in case you don’t have an extra one lying around your yard. The Rebuilding Center is a good place to start your search for a fence or gate headboard. Once you have the headboard up, hang fabric or paint stencils to customize it for your room.

The region’s wet weather is wonderful for plants, but it sometimes keeps Portland’s many avid gardeners indoors. Luckily, adding fence materials to your living room décor can create a charming, garden-like ambiance that will keep any gardener cheerful all year round.

Before you do anything else, be sure to carefully clean and sand any old fence materials; Portland has many fences with lead paint, so have a vacuum cleaner on hand to quickly suck up any lead paint, and wear a facemask to protect yourself. Next, paint or re-stain the fence materials if you’d like. Finally, add hanging fixtures that will provide strong support. If you have picture frame molding, string wires through eyehooks to hang the fence directly from the molding.

3. Fence Trellis Shade for Window Privacy

Sometimes, Portland homes are built quite near each other. Privacy can be hard to come by in such situations. To create a private, charming room, hang a trellis from the window frame and grow a climbing plant along the trellis. Keep in mind that the sunlight may be limited by the trellis fence materials; Portland being a rather rainy town, you will want to reserve this project for areas of your home that already have plenty of natural light.

4. Fence Plank Shelving

Portlanders who install fences often end up with extra cedar fence materials on their hands, especially planks. Instead of stowing those planks in the garage to gather cobwebs and dust, you can reuse them as shelves.

First, you’ll need to cut the boards to size. Next, clean and sand as described above. You can also paint fence planks to match the décor of your room. Finally, use decorative shelf fixtures from IKEA or antique stores to mount the shelves to your wall.

5. Picket Fence around Children’s Room

This is an especially sweet way to reuse cedar fence materials. Portland parents can create a safe, inspirational playroom for their kids by repurposing picket fence sections. Once the picket fence is clean, you may want to add a fresh layer of white glossy paint.

Next, use strong hooks to mount the fence to your wall, just above the baseboard where it will appear the fence is truly surrounding the room. Ensure that the fence materials are securely hung against the wall before bringing children into the room. Tuck artificial flowers in-between the fence and the wall for decoration.

Reusing old fence materials in your interior decorating schemes is not only creative; it’s also good for the earth. By completing one of the projects listed above, you can help limit the amount of construction materials in Oregon landfills.